Power of Situations

A Critique of “The Power of Situations” by Lee Ross and Richard E. NisbettOur basics assumptions, and our instincts usually serve us well. We can judge the situations and people accordingly, and at most times, correctly. But behaviors in its entirety, is very complex and is based on a myriad of elements within our environment. Lee Ross and Richard Nisbett, authors of “The Power of Situations” conclude that information such as personalities, and backgrounds are trivial. If you walked in a neighborhood that is pleasantly normal one day, and the next day, you decided not to, is it because of the situation? Could it not be because, you felt like taking the bike for a ride instead, or felt lazy? Ross’ and Nisbett’s theory does not take into account that emotions, or personal preferences exist. Ross and Nisbett confidently believe that situations within our present environment determine our behavior. The latter, being the person’s emotional state, or personality serves no judicial purpose in determining behavior. The “specifics of the situation” (Ross/Nisbett 690) would be considered significant, in that the aesthetics of the situation is the “tipping point” in concluding actions. The authors also claim that “subtler, contextual details that empirical research has shown” (Ross/Nisbett 690) are factors that influence people to intervene. The authors also explain that the “fundamental attribution error;” is people’s belief in the significance of individuality, and failure in the significance of “situational factors in affecting behavior” (Ross/Nisbett 690). The “fundamental attribution error” is the biggest problem in what Ross and Nisbett conclude. The definition of the theory is clear-cut, but the author’s logic is based on empirical research that is not 100%. It could never be completely factual, as human personality traits, and emotion cannot be measured or removed from the equation. At first glance, their logic in presenting “evidence”...

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...
Summary of "The Power of Situations"
The authors of "The Power of Situations" are Lee Ross and Richard E. Nisbett. Ross is a psychology professor at Stanford University and Nisbett is a psychology professor at the University of Michigan. In the article, Ross and Nisbett discuss the irony and complexity of Social Psychology on today's society.
In the beginning, the article starts off by stating that undergraduate students typically enjoy their first social psychology class. This is believed to be because they are still fascinated by human behavior. Graduate students who are in their fourth or fifth year of study think differently about social psychology. They tend to become so immersed in the problems of human behavior that the behavior of the people around them becomes challenging. Ross and Nisbett also state that sometimes graduate students know so much about human behavior they often times find themselves questioning their own behavior.
In an example scenario, the subject John is presented with a decision to either walk away from or offer help to a questionable man. Ross and Nisbett state that the majority of people would want to know more about John's behavior as a person before they would speak on his actions. However, you end up reading that this information is actually irrelevant to making any decisions on what John's behavior will be, while details of the situation are extremely...

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Power- The concept of "power" is useful for understanding how people are able to influence each other in organizations. Power involves the capacity of one party (the "agent") to influence another party (the "target").
Authority involves the rights, obligations, and duties associated with particular positions in an organization or social system. A leader with direct authority over a target person has the right to make requests consistent with this authority, and the target person has the duty to obey.
Outcomes of Influence Attempts
One useful basis for evaluating the success of an influence attempt is whether the immediate outcome is what the agent intended.
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Compliance- The term compliance describes an outcome in which the target is willing to do what the agent asks but will make only a minimal effort.
Resistance- The term resistance describes an outcome in which the target person is opposed to the proposal or request, and actively tries to avoid carrying it out.
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